What day does 'midnight' belong to?

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shk292

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#2347826 3-Nov-2019 16:27

Tinkerisk:

shk292:

This is why in the military, nothing ever happens at midnight. Timing around midnight is always specified as 2359 or 0001; less room for error that way.

And here we go for the first error: one should mark it as 2359Z or 0001Z - nevertheless 0000Z is clear as well since 2400Z doesn't exist. ;-)

Not an error - I wasn't specifying a time zone. But the same figures are used, regardless of time zone.

snnet

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#2347827 3-Nov-2019 16:48

CYaBro:

Interesting.

I normally take 'midnight' as meaning the end of the day.
If someone said 12am then I would take that as the start of the day.

Reason I ask is I got some New World Scratch & Score cards on Friday and the person in store said the promotion ends this weekend.
In the Terms and Conditions on the back of the cards themselves, it says "Promotion runs 16/9/19-2/11/19. Game Play closes 3/11/19."

I took that as meaning that you could still go online on the 3/11/19 and enter the promotion.

However on going to the website today it says the promotion has ended, and in the terms and conditions on the website it says:

"The Promotion runs from 16 September 2019 - 2 November 2019, or until stores run out of code cards that enable you to play the game online, whichever happens first during the Promotion Period.

The online Scratch & Score game closes at midnight 3 November 2019."

Not fussed, it just brought up an interesting question in regards to 'midnight'. :)

When you initially asked the question I was going to ask if it was to do with some competition or entrance of something. I recall seeing similar scenarios where the terms were set out a bit clearer like "Ends at 12am on 3/11/19", I guess to combat this. In all honesty without someone asking the question and me seeing "Ends midnight 3/11/19" I might automatically assume I had all of the 3rd to enter until I got told it was over

sbiddle

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#2347830 3-Nov-2019 17:43

It's a bit like the use of the term "before" and a day of the week.

Does "before Saturday" mean you need to do something before the end of Friday, or before the end of Saturday? The term means different things to people in different English speaking countries, just like many countries (incl the US) who use the word "last" to describe the last time something happened, whereas we tend to interpret it quite differently. In many countries "last September" would mean the month September 2019, yet here in NZ most people would interpret it as meaning September 2018.

linw

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#2347851 3-Nov-2019 19:36

This is a similar problem I have had recently.

If you tell your power co, for example, to close your account on, say, 29 Sept , does that mean you will get power till midnight 29 Sept or is the last day of power on the 28th? Same with insurance termination - when does cover stop?

CYaBro

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#2347858 3-Nov-2019 20:32

This time the biggest issue was that New World made it confusing with the two different wordings they used in the t's&c's on the playing cards and on the website.

One saying 'closes midnight 3/11/19' and the other just saying 'closes 3/11/19'.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

snnet

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#2347860 3-Nov-2019 20:39

linw:

This is a similar problem I have had recently.

If you tell your power co, for example, to close your account on, say, 29 Sept , does that mean you will get power till midnight 29 Sept or is the last day of power on the 28th? Same with insurance termination - when does cover stop?

I've just dealt with insurance, adjusting cover and mine did say "ends at 12am on xxx" - I'd say they'd be damn careful about that kind of thing

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linw

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#2347894 4-Nov-2019 04:27

snnet:

linw:

This is a similar problem I have had recently.

If you tell your power co, for example, to close your account on, say, 29 Sept , does that mean you will get power till midnight 29 Sept or is the last day of power on the 28th? Same with insurance termination - when does cover stop?

I've just dealt with insurance, adjusting cover and mine did say "ends at 12am on xxx" - I'd say they'd be damn careful about that kind of thing

Yes, it is pretty damn important. I am with State and couldn't see any reference to exact time. From recall the termination option on their site just had the day not time.

elbrownos

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#2348082 4-Nov-2019 13:04

snnet:

linw:

This is a similar problem I have had recently.

If you tell your power co, for example, to close your account on, say, 29 Sept , does that mean you will get power till midnight 29 Sept or is the last day of power on the 28th? Same with insurance termination - when does cover stop?

I've just dealt with insurance, adjusting cover and mine did say "ends at 12am on xxx" - I'd say they'd be damn careful about that kind of thing

12am & 12pm have no official or even unofficial definition. Insurance companies should know better.

snnet

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#2348095 4-Nov-2019 14:01

linw:

snnet:

linw:

This is a similar problem I have had recently.

If you tell your power co, for example, to close your account on, say, 29 Sept , does that mean you will get power till midnight 29 Sept or is the last day of power on the 28th? Same with insurance termination - when does cover stop?

I've just dealt with insurance, adjusting cover and mine did say "ends at 12am on xxx" - I'd say they'd be damn careful about that kind of thing

Yes, it is pretty damn important. I am with State and couldn't see any reference to exact time. From recall the termination option on their site just had the day not time.

Oh okay, I am with State to but I guess I'm old school - I rang up and they send me documents that specified

FineWine

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#2348148 4-Nov-2019 15:20

shk292:

This is why in the military, nothing ever happens at midnight. Timing around midnight is always specified as 2359 or 0001; less room for error that way.

Being ex RNZAF this was explained quite in depth as a raw recruit in 1972. Train timetables are historically the same.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

msukiwi

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#2348521 5-Nov-2019 16:47

I think New World have learnt a lesson:

Current promotion:

When can I earn stickers?

New World customers can earn stickers from 00:01am on 4 November 2019 to 11.59pm on 12 January 2020 (“Campaign Period”).

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shk292

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#2348547 5-Nov-2019 18:43

msukiwi:

I think New World have learnt a lesson:

Current promotion:

When can I earn stickers?

New World customers can earn stickers from 00:01am on 4 November 2019 to 11.59pm on 12 January 2020 (“Campaign Period”).

Maybe the organiser is a GZ reader!

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